2. The new Slytherin seeker

On the next morning Harry walked in the Great Hall with Ron. He was in a bad mood; he had had nightmares the night before. It was like every night, but he had somehow hoped that would change in Hogwarts, but it had been the same nightmares, which he had had since Sirius dead.

Ron and Harry sat across of Hermione on the Gryffindor table.

"Morning you two!" she said from behind her book.

"Morning", mumbled Harry.

"Morning, darling. Have you had a good sleep?" said Ron.

Hermione looked up and smiled at Ron, but when she saw Harry's expression, hers became worried.

"Is something wrong, Harry?"

"Nothing", he lied. Hermione didn't believe it, but she didn't dare to go on with the topic.

As they were almost finished with their breakfast, Professor McGonagall went a long the Gryffindor table and handed them their time tables.

"We have Transfiguration the whole morning. Why for so long?", wondered Ron.

"Every subject will be four hours long", explained Hermione.

"Even Potions?"

"Especially Potions. This year we'll have to brew some potions which need more time."

"Why did I chose Potions?", moaned Ron.

"I thought you wanted to become an auror."

"I hope being an auror is worth potions. And why did you chose it, you don't want to be an auror?"

"Well it's a really important subject and..."

"... you just wanted to learn as much as possible."

"No! I..." Hermione began a little angry.

"I'm going now, but you can stay here and argue 'til lunch, I'll excuse you by McGonagall", Harry interrupted and went off to Transfiguration.

Both Ron and Hermione looked a bit shocked after the mentioning of their Head of House, they stood up quickly and went after Harry.

Transfiguration passed without much talking between the trio. First Professor McGonagall talked about the N.E.W.T.s and then they made a revision.

At the end of the lesson McGonagall wanted to speak with Ron about quidditch since he was made Captain the previous year.

After lunch the trio was walking to the Defence against the Dark Arts classroom.

"I wonder why we have a new teacher this year", said Hermione.

"Professor McMahon has disappeared during the holidays, no one knows where he is", said Ron.

"How do you know?"

"I asked McGonagall."

"Oh. Anyway I hope the new teacher is as good as him, we need a good teacher for the N.E.W.T.s."

"Yeah, but what I can't understand is why we have this class with the Slytherins. They don't even need it."

Ron and Hermione continued to talk until they reached the classroom. It has been this way since last year. Ron and Hermione talked and Harry listened or thought about something else.

As they walked in almost everybody were there. Ron and Hermione sat on a desk in the first row and Harry behind them next to Neville. As the bell rang the teacher came in. It was a woman, about forty with short dark brown hair.

"Good afternoon. I'm Professor Rush. You should know that I won't allow bad work in my class. If you want to pass your N.E.W.T.s you'll have to work very hard, otherwise you can go now."

She looked at the students, no one moved.

"Good. First I'll have to disarrange you."

She looked around once more.

"You", she said to Seamus", sit next to that boy in the 3rd row, left."

Hermione was seated with some Slytherin boy, Ron sat next to Crabbe and Harry had to sit with a black haired girl from Slytherin, where Malfoy had been sitting before he had to sit with Pansy Parkinson. Only Neville and Lavender and Malfoy and Pansy were sitting with someone from their house after Professor Rush finished. The rest of the class was spend with a revision.

At dinner Harry was in the same bad mood, but since he felt like this almost all the time, he didn't care to improve it. He was just thinking about his nightmares, when Ron called his name for the fourth time.

"What?", he asked as he looked at Ron.

"I want to talk with you about the quidditch cup. It's our last chance to win it", answered the redhead.

"Gryffindor won it the last three times."

"Yes, but this year we'll have a different team, we have to train more."

"We only need a new beater, it won't be so difficult", Harry said.

"Malfoy has made many changes in his team, almost everyone's new. McGonagall told me that he had already chosen the new players and she thinks that he would do anything to win this year."

"Whatever he does he can't be a better seeker than Harry, so Slytherin have no chance", Hermione added and Harry nodded.

"Well, as I said he has made many changes, he isn't the seeker anymore, he's the keeper. Slytherin has a new seeker."

"What?"

"Who?"

"A girl. Her name was.. Elena Santos, I think."

"Who?" Harry asked again.

"The girl that sits next to you in Defence against the Dark Arts", Parvati broke into.

Harry, Ron and Hermione looked at her confused.

"How do you know?" Hermione asked her.

"As me and Parvati asked Professor McGonagall at the beginning of last year if she could tell us who was the best at the O.W.L.s she told us that Elena Santos was the best", Lavender said.

"No chance Hermione is the best in our year", Ron said.

"That's what we thought too and so we asked McGonagall about it. She said that that girl had always been the best in all tests. She had eleven Outstandings and Hermione ten."

"But…"

"Why isn't she Head Girl then, if she's better than me", Hermione maenad.

"She didn't want to be a prefect in the first place so she couldn't become Head Girl."

"Why did Malfoy took as a seeker? In the last six years there's never been a girl in the Slytherin team."

For the first time in as while Harry was really interested in a conversation.

"We think that they are together."

"I thought he was going out with Parkinson."

"No, Hermione. He would never go out with that cow."

"Sure", Hermione said sceptical.

"Of course he wouldn't! She is ugly and stupid, nothing like him."

"Oh, so Malfoy isn't ugly and stupid?"

"He isn't. He's one of the best looking guys in Hogwarts - you can't denied it Hermione - and he is the smartest."

"Yeah, he's so intelligent. That's why he's going to be a death eater", Hermione said.

Parvati glared at her and turned to talk with Lavender.

"I hope Malfoy made that girl seeker only because she's his girlfriend and not because she's good", Ron said and with that the topic was finished.

Harry thought about the girl. She didn't seem to be so intelligent or to be a good quidditch player and she surely didn't look like Malfoy's girlfriend. But he hadn't really looked at her, maybe he should do it next time he saw her.